Market Snap: At the New York close: S&P 500 up 0.1% at 1603. DJIA up 1% at 14910. Nasdaq Comp up 0.9% at 3376. Treasury yields fell; 10-year at 2.54%. Nymex crude oil up 0.2% at $95.50. Gold down 3.6% at $1,230/ounce.

How We Got Here: Central bankers from Brussels to Minneapolis are trying to tamp down a global selloff that could unwind everything they’ve been trying to wind up. The drumbeat from the central bankers has a certain “the lady doth protest too much” quality to it, but it has been relatively effective. The unrelenting selling, has relented.

Yet, it certainly does seem like the Fed tipped its hand, no matter what it says now. All this virtual money-printing really does make the Fed nervous. In this sense, the PBOC is ahead of the Fed: China’s central bank is making no bones about the message it’s sending to its banks.

For a day at least, the markets were buying into it all again, and they got another boost in the U.S. from a materially weaker revision to first-quarter GDP. This puts the entire U.S. economy on a sub-2% growth path in the first half. If Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke meant what he said about the economy driving policy, a slower economy should mean the end of QE just got pushed out, right?

What You Missed Overnight

Blue Chips Rally: U.S. stocks pushed broadly higher Wednesday, as global fears about a pullback in central-bank support continued to ease.

First-Quarter GDP Revised Down:The U.S. economy expanded at a slower pace than previously estimated in the first quarter as consumer spending and business investment were revised sharply downward.

U.S. Retailers Hammer Out Safety Pact:Several large U.S. retailers are nearing an agreement to establish a $50 million, five-year fund to improve safety conditions in Bangladesh garment factories.

Abe Pushes for Majority in Upper House:Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe closed out his first session of parliament on Wednesday, vowing to stick to his economic expansionist policies as he aims to strengthen his grip on power.